This is an analysis of the poem The Honest Shepherd that begins with:

When hungry wolves had trespass'd on the fold,
And the robb'd shepherd his sad story told,... full text

Elements of the verse: questions and answers

The information we provided is prepared by means of a special computer program. Use the criteria sheet to understand greatest poems or improve your poetry analysis essay.

  • Rhyme scheme: aaXXbbccdd
  • Stanza lengths (in strings): 10,
  • Closest metre: iambic pentameter
  • Сlosest rhyme: couplets
  • Сlosest stanza type: sonnet
  • Guessed form: heroic couplets
  • Metre: 11011100101 1011001101 1010010101 1111110101 1101000101 1100110101 0101110001 10011001101 1101111101 1101010111
  • Amount of stanzas: 1
  • Average number of symbols per stanza: 436
  • Average number of words per stanza: 79
  • Amount of lines: 10
  • Average number of symbols per line: 43 (strings are more long than medium ones)
  • Average number of words per line: 8
  • Mood of the speaker:

    The punctuation marks are various. Neither mark predominates.

If you write a school or university poetry essay, you should Include in your explanation of the poem:

  • summary of The Honest Shepherd;
  • central theme;
  • idea of the verse;
  • history of its creation;
  • critical appreciation.

Good luck in your poetry interpretation practice!

More information about poems by Matthew Prior